


otabek & his one (1) fear

by gentletaes



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Fear, Humor, M/M, Otabek is Scared, Phobias, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:50:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gentletaes/pseuds/gentletaes
Summary: The thing, cream and brown, lurked around the couch to meet his owner and Otabek at the door. Otabek tried not to cower, but he was weak.Potya’s big, blue eyes stared him down judgingly, as if she knew how terrified he was of her.





	otabek & his one (1) fear

**Author's Note:**

> hey all! i'm here with some attempt at humor for the live and love big bang event, and this is a bing! so yeah. i hope you all enjoy it! 
> 
> the amazing art is done by @code-turquoise on tumblr!! thanks for being a good partner!! <3 
> 
> enjoy!

Okay, so Otabek may or may not have a huge crush on his newfound best friend, Yuri Plisetsky. And Otabek may or may not be trying to arrange a meeting between them for the first time since Barcelona.

There was just one glaring problem that Otabek couldn’t address. Not yet, anyway. Yuri was adamant about Otabek coming to Russia, being that he was fluent in the language, he was older, and his coach was probably a little more lenient compared to Yakov and Lilia. Yuri used Otabek’s own maturity against him, but Otabek could try his best to get Yuri to come to Kazakhstan. He had to, if he wanted to keep his dignity intact.

It wasn’t working out so well.

They were currently Skyping, a now daily occurrence, and Yuri was looking adorable, all cuddled into his blankets. The topic of meeting up was brought up once more, as it always was sooner or later.

“Yuri, come on, I can take you for another bike ride if you come to Almaty,” Otabek urged, staring at the _problem_ that was in Yuri’s own room.

“Beka,” Yuri whined, rolling around under his sheets. “I will next time! But Old Man and Katsudon and Yakov are all skeptical about you—no offense—and they would never let me go alone. The only way we’ll be able to meet again before Worlds is if you come here.”

Nerves rolled around in Otabek’s stomach. He wanted to go to Russia, he really did, but the embarrassment was so much worse. “Yuri…”

The playful smile on Yuri’s face turned into a frown. “Do you not actually want to see me? What the hell, Beka.”

Otabek’s heart clenched. “No, Yura, that’s not it at all! I just—” Okay, it was time to swallow his pride. He’d go, overcome his fear, win the boy of his dreams…. “Fine,” he gave in with a defeated sigh. “I’ll come to Russia.”

Perhaps seeing Yuri smile so brightly would be worth it in the end. (He hoped.)

  
  


Otabek had the whole flight to worry about what might go down when he finally arrived in St. Petersburg and then at Lilia’s when Yuri took him there. However, the joy at reuniting with Yuri as soon as he got past customs overpowered the anxiety he was feeling about meeting Yuri’s _friend_. God, what kind of man was he?

Otabek tried not to blush when Yuri grabbed ahold of his hand after pulling away from their tight hug. He was trying not to be obvious, but it was hard when his crush was big. Like, he could confess at any moment. Of course, he would prefer it to be more romantic, and maybe later, if Yuri ever showed interest. Now was not the time.

They met with Lilia, who drove them back to her home, and Otabek was _sweating_. Yuri chattered excitedly, and Otabek managed to keep up, but his mind was preoccupied with multiple other things. Together, they entered the apartment and Otabek’s nerves increased tenfold. How was that even possible? Lilia said she had errands to run and promptly left, leaving the two alone.

Yuri obviously noticed his nerves and eyed him wearily. “Otabek,” he crooned, setting his suitcase next to the door for the Kazakh, “are you alright? You’re all red.”

Otabek nodded, eyes scanning the room. “Just fine.”

And then his nightmares were coming to life.

The _thing_ , cream and brown, lurked around the couch to meet his owner and Otabek at the door. Otabek tried not to cower, but he was _weak_.

Potya’s big, blue eyes stared him down judgingly, as if she knew how terrified he was of her.

Yuri grinned as he leaned over to pick her up off the ground. “Isn’t Potya adorable? I’ve been _dying_ for you to meet her!” He was oblivious, and Otabek was forgetting all the embarrassment, his emotions focused on the fear instead.  

Yuri turned with Potya in his arms, coming face to face with Otabek again. Otabek didn't know how his face must have looked, but he didn't care. He was backed against the wall, heart in his throat. “Otabek?” he inquired again. He looked confused. Otabek was probably glaring at Potya rudely.  

“Uhh…” he trailed intelligently.

“Do you not like Potya?” Yuri asked, his voice incredibly sincere and genuine and Otabek almost felt guilty for his most-likely irrational fear, all because Yuri sounded extremely disappointed. He really had been looking forward to introducing the two, hadn’t he?

Otabek chuckled nervously in place of answering that question--it wasn’t as if he didn’t like Potya, it was just that he was _terrified._ How could he admit to that when Yuri probably had this cool image about him? He couldn’t let that slip now, could he?

So, avoiding the question, he asked urgently, “Where’s the bathroom?” He was quick to follow the direction of Yuri’s thumb down the hall.

Safe in the confines of the bathroom, he shut the door and leaned against it heavily with a sigh. He just had to make it through the week. Just one week.

  
  


Potya left them alone after the initial meeting, which Otabek was extremely grateful for. He finally got to be alone with Yuri, and it was so pleasant. It wasn’t any different from their nightly Skype calls or spontaneous FaceTimes, except that it was _better_ and _real_. He got to see his friend here, in person, for all that he was. He got the snarky insults and loud, crude mouth in real time, and nothing could beat that--not even a cat. He would take advantage of their short time together.

They skated together, as expected of them, went back to Lilia’s place, ate a shit ton of food according to their dietary plans, and shared music recommendations and watched movies together. It was wonderful, and everything Otabek had dreamed of when he thought of spending time with Yuri. He wondered if Yuri ever noticed how he’d scoot closer during their movies, and sometimes he worried he was staring too much.

And, of course, there was Potya always niggling in the back of his mind. She was a constant presence, an unexpected one, and Otabek never knew when she would decide to strike. Cats had unpredictable minds. He was scared of that.  She was good at scaring Otabek away at crucial times, as if she _knew_ how Otabek felt for her owner and was sabotaging every chance he had to be even slightly flirty with Yuri.

Yuri was playing with a handheld game with his head in Otabek’s lap as they listened to music, joking occasionally when a crude song came on, claiming they’d use it as program music. Otabek tried not to stare too hard at Yuri as the boy focused intently on his game, but that was hard to do with his golden hair splayed across his thighs and his nose all scrunched. It was like an angel had come and graced his presence.

Otabek was just beginning to play with said hair when the cracked door began creaking, and seeing no Lilia, Otabek knew it was Potya. A second later, she was on the bed and Yuri abandoned his game to sit up and coo to her, encouraging her to get closer to them.

He tried.

He really, really did, as she approached, her fluff hiding all that masterminding. “Otabek, she likes you,” Yuri said happily as Potya sniffed Otabek’s knees. Her nose was _touching him_ . His heart raced, because she was going to use her inherent evil to _attack_ him. Despite his modesty, he thought his face was too nice for that.

“Oh,” Otabek let out involuntarily. His voice caught. Yuri sent him a questioning look, similar to the one he’d gotten when they first met. “I just forgot I have to… check… my bank account. Yeah.” With that weak excuse, he stood abruptly, rattling Potya a bit and Yuri was frowning. He left the room as quickly as he could and hoped Potya would be gone by the time he left.

  


He was running out of excuses by the fourth day. At this point, he’d called his doctor, parents, optometrist; checked his bank account, his luggage tags; had to use the bathroom about six times when he really didn’t. Yuri was beyond suspicious but had the courtesy so far to not ask. He didn't know how long it that would last. It was only a matter of time until Yuri called him out, like he would have with literally anybody. He didn’t know if he should be happy about Yuri’s bias.

He knew he was doomed from the start.

He was exiting the bathroom, his seventh excuse when it was unnecessary, only to be met face to face with Yuri and the monster, Potya. Yuri had an eyebrow raised, but his face was otherwise faux-innocence, Potya held underneath her front paws in front of his chest. Otabek, caught by surprise, stepped back in fear. Potya was too close for comfort. Well, it’d be better now to face this fear than the one he had of confessing to Yuri already. He’d take the small victories.

“Do you hate her?” Yuri questioned without a second thought. He had obviously caught on; he wasn’t stupid, and Otabek knew that. He had to tell the truth; he couldn’t hurt Yuri’s feelings like this.

“No—I, um… I may or may not… be scared…?” Admitting it was as terrible as he thought it would be. He didn’t even last five minutes in the face of a cat. Yuri looked confused, then his face blanked, and then his lips were quivering.

And, as he expected, his crush was laughing in his face. He had been prepared for that reaction, and it still hurt. Just a little.

“Beka, afraid of cats?” Yuri crowed after a good, hearty cackle. “Who would have thought?” Potya looked content in Yuri’s arms still, eyeing the stranger with those judgy cat eyes. Yuri, mostly good-naturedly, stuck his arms out a little further, an attempt at a joke to get Otabek and Potya closer. He seemed to realize his mistake when Otabek flinched without a second thought, without trying to hide it.

“Oh,” Yuri said, his playfulness gone. He bit his lip and gently set Potya down, shooing her sweetly with his foot. “Beka, I didn’t even… I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Otabek said, hoping to gain some of his ego back.

“No, that was rude of me. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You love her, Yura. I would never want you to distance yourself from her because I’m _afraid_ of her.”   

“Still,” Yuri grumbled, looking down at the ground. They stood in silence, Yuri feeling guilty and Otabek feeling awkward and ashamed. “Can I ask why?”

Otabek pulled his shirt up, shocking Yuri momentarily at the sudden showing of skin. He turned his body a little to show his side, and deep gashes that were now white scars were visible on his tan skin. “A feral cat, when I was six,” he said blandly. Ever since, he’d been scared of getting too close to cats, domesticated or otherwise.

Yuri frowned and, unexpectedly, hugged Otabek. “I’m sorry, Beka. I’ll keep her at a distance for now, then.”

But most of all, Otabek hated seeing Yuri disappointed, so he took a deep breath and asked, gathering his courage, “Can you teach me how to pet her?”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @jesusasahi (it's new)


End file.
